Pret to increase veggie option in-store

Pret A Manger will increase the vegetarian and vegan options in its stores following a blog and poll led by chief executive Clive Schlee.

Consumers voted against an all-vegetarian Pret A Manger in favour of dedicated vegetarian fridges on-site.

While 44% showed support for an all-veggie store, the majority went for the fridge option with 52%. Just 4% thought Pret should stay as it is.

As well as increasing veggie options, other decisions to come from the poll included improving labelling to make vegetarian and vegan options stand out and running a test vegetarian fridge in one shop. The group will also “explore” converting an existing site into an all-veggie Pret for a few weeks next summer.

Schlee said the exercise was worthwhile in customer research.

He said: “Several themes came through clearly. Many people commented that isolating vegetarians did not feel right. There was a strong call to arms from vegans, a movement that is clearly growing in popularity.”